and what about THERMAL printers??

[JustJazzie]

Edit: apparently, my husband was mostly considering a thermal printer. Anyone have knowledge about those specifically?

I guess he was thinking I would get a thermal printer to do anything up to around 8X10 so I can keep up with album prints, and then continue sending out for wall art. (which lets face it- I don't print wall art very often- the biggest print on my walls right now are 8x10)
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I've mentioned before, that I am absolutely terrible about printing pictures. Really, I just forget to find the time to upload them and send them off. (I try to do it after midnight when our internet is unlimited) Please don't ask me how far behind I am.

DH has been suggesting that we just invest in a nice photo printer so I can print as I go. He is thinking we can spend somewhere between $1,000-$1,500 or so if we decide to do it.

So I have a few questions
A) is the quality of a nice photo printer comparable to say MPIX, or at least costco?
B) Do you at least break even on the cost over time? (Assuming you add shipping fees onto your estimate for mail order print services?)
C) are there any benefits or drawbacks I may not have yet considered?
D) can you recommend a specific printer, or give me any insights in what I should consider when choosing one?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

 

[The_Traveler]

Not even that much.
Canon pro 100 is good for sizes up to 13 x 19 ad makes superb prints.
Ink is available from 3d party relatively inexpensively.

The prints I make from this image compare very favorably with those I spend way too much for from a custom printer.
There is excellent free software from Canon that loads as plugin on LR or PS (or standalone) and handles printing very well

Canon PRO 100 PIXMA Wireless Professional Inkjet Photo 6228B002

Canon Pixma PRO-100 Review Rating PCMag.com

Amazon.com Canon PIXMA PRO-100 Color Professional Inkjet Photo Printer Electronics

 

[jsecordphoto]

I 2nd the pixma pro series of printers. I have the pro 100 and love it, definitely comparable to the quality of some labs I've used, plus I get to control the process and get instant satisfaction.

 

[runnah]

i have a hard time justifying the purchase of one.

$400 can buy a lot of outsourced photos. Plus not to mention ink and paper costs.

I guess I normally get snap shots done at Walmart for super cheap and anything I want in the wall would be bigger than I could print at home.

 

[Ysarex]

The Canon printer is fabulous and Epson printers are competitive.

Not real sure you can break even as paper and ink are costly. If you're going to do it then you might as well do it well and use good paper.

Results are superb and superior to what you can get from MPix etc.

Two concerns:

1. You're looking at inkjet technology and there's one issue that's potentially trouble. Inkjet printers thrive on use. If you let them sit ideal for months at a time the ink can dry out and clog in the jets and you really don't want that to happen.

2. Time to really learn color management.

Joe

 

[Derrel]

Let me put it this way Jazzie...you have a household, a DH, and some kiddos, and a life to run. Now...let's say you decide you want to have some grilled cheeze sammiches for the kiddos and hubbs on the 4th of July 2016, NEXT year...so....what I would say is, buy a cow right now, and get to milking it. Learn how to make cheese. Make cheese. Store cheddar cheese for 9 months, then it's ready to eat. Total cost is $1,800 for cow and supplies. Let's call this "buying and maintaining one's own printer."

The other option is, on around July 1, 2016 (next year!), you and hubbs drive into town and buy three, two-pound bricks of Tillamook cheddar cheese at Grocery Mart. You live out of town, so that is why you're buying six pounds of cheddar, which will keep for, well, about 8 months, or until eaten. Total cost is $21 for this much cheese. Let's call this approach, "outsourcing all of one's printing."

 

[runnah]

Id buy a printer that made grilled cheese.

 

[Ysarex]

How about thinking of it this way:

Artists make their own prints unless they're famous. Commercial photographers job it out

Joe

 

[bhop]

I've had the same Canon pixma printer for a few years and it's still going strong. The prints from it look like the stuff i've gotten from labs, comparing small prints anyway. It might be cheaper in the long run to outsource your printing, depending on how much you actually print, but having a printer in your office will probably make you print more often. Preparing my pics, filling out the forms and dealing with the mail is annoying to me. I know it's not that difficult, but i'd rather just open my app and push some buttons.

I also use my printer for printing regular office type stuff as well, so does my girlfriend, so it gets plenty of use.

 

[The_Traveler]

The way I looked at it, I have a printer here when I want it, and the prints I want.
If a print looks off, I can redo it then, no waiting, no postage.
The Canon software has a fairly neat option, it will print a large pattern of repeated blocks of the same print with different settings.
So if I am printing something, I will run an 8 x 10 or 11 x 14 pattern print and then make my alterations on the full size.
I use mostly Canon papers but am trying other higher end types.
The print papers are heavy and both look and feel like quality.

Since I don't sell prints (no one has ever asked ), its not a question of 'breaking even'; I very much like the idea of being able to produce the print I want and not what the lab decides is correct.

 

[sleist]

I bought an Epson 3880 at the end of January.
It's completely changed my photographic experience.
I feel like a photo isn't finished until it exists in the real world as a print.
It's impacted how I shoot and why I shoot.
It's the best thing I've ever done to expand my love of photography.

My 2 cents.

 

[JustJazzie]

@The_Traveler Thank you for the recommendation! I will look into that series. Im glad to hear good quality prints are under our projected budget. (Think I can talk DH into letting me spend the savings on gear? :giggle: )
@jsecordphoto - I do like instant gratification!
@runnah It is a big purchase, and I think I would MUCH rather have a new lens for that money, but that doesnt solve my printing issue. lol
@Ysarex Thanks for reviewing the canon for me! I dont think that making sure the printer got good use would be an issue. We homeschool and I do a TON of printing, so if it was looking dusty it would be easy enough to run a page or two through that printer instead of our general one. Thanks for the note though!
@Derrel- Ive gotta disagree with you on this one. Right now I am doing all the work on my photos and then exiting the program. Hoping to find time to later put in a big order of all my backed up prints. I always want to put in a big enough order to make shipping worth it. Unfortunately this rarely happens. If the costs were even close, I think that being able to take the extra minuet to print my pictures during step one would be an easier minuet to find than an hours time to choose/upload/print a big order online. If we are keeping your food analogy with a printer I am making a delicious meal that I get to eat NOW, and outsourcing prints is like making a freezer meal that may or may not be forgotten before it gets freezer burnt. ;-)
@bhop thanks for chiming in! I definitely think having a good printer would encourage me to print more. and as it stands I am trying to crop to a 4x6 for everything since its the cheapest to print when I would REALLY like a 8x10 ratio or whatever, so then I am spending time in photoshop adding a black border so that I can get the print small but in the orientation that I like. maybe a printer would save time there?
@sleist I am glad to hear you think your printer is worth it!

 

[Gary A.]

I used to use the 13x19 Epson's. They delivered exceptional quality at a minimum equal to commercial prints. I wasted a ton of paper and ink getting the images as near to my perception of perfect as I could. At the time I was shooting Canon and a friend suggest I try Canon ... as he felt that Canon and Canon required little adjustments. I picked up a Canon 9500 MKII (13x19 w/ 10 inks). The prints were equal to Epson with much much less waste. I purchased the printer from a guy would obtained it on a bundled deal ... it cost no more than a song.

The Pro 100 has 8 inks and the Pro 1 has 12 inks. Based upon your budget and based upon the Pro 1's B&W quality (looks like a wet photograph) ... I strongly suggest you take a look at the Pro 1. Yes, it is $400 versus $1000 for essentially two additional inks ... but those two inks are grayscale inks which nearly doubles the dedicated B&W inks (from three to five).

The Pro 100 is a great printer ... but every time you craft a B&W print you'll be wondering how much better it would look on the Pro 1.

Good Luck and Good Printing,
Gary

PS- For me, printing completes the photographic cycle. There is a lot of satisfaction knowing you were fully responsible for every single step along the way in crafting the final image. For me, printing isn't only about money ... it is about being the complete photographer the total craftsperson.
G

 

[Buckster]

I have a Canon i9900 photo printer that does up to 13" x 19" that I've been using for about 10 years.
I also have an Epson 1400 photo printer that does up to 13" x 19" that I've been using for about 5 years.

My observations are:

• They are comparable to one another in terms of color and quality.
• Good (more expensive) paper makes a real difference.
• Genuine (unfortunately, expensive) inks for whichever printer you're using are a must - 3rd party cheap ink doesn't hold up long on the prints, colors fade or turn into other colors - weird stuff happens to them. It's not worth it, especially if you print for clients.
• It is more expensive to print at home when you add up all the costs.
• It's very convenient to be able to print at home, and has been worth the additional cost to me, especially since I don't bear that cost myself - it is a cost passed on to the client, like all the costs in my CODB plan.
• Leave the printer plugged in and turned on all the time, especially if you don't use it all the time. It will self-clean the nozzles periodically without asking so that the problem of dried ink clogging them doesn't occur. Turn it off or unplug it and let it sit for too long a period, and you'll have trouble with clogs. It's not worth it.

 

[jsecordphoto]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned it, they have really good rebate deals on the canon printers all the time. I got my pro100 for $150 after rebate, and I know there have been times where you can get them for even cheaper